The Coolest Cars of SEMA 2026
There was no standout model at this year's SEMA show in Las Vegas, unlike years where there's a new Camaro, Mustang, New Beetle, or, way back when, a new Miata.
Likewise, no one inside the Las Vegas Convention Center seemed overly worried that a gallon of regular is now over $4, premium is over $5, and diesel, which they used to throw away (didn't they?) is now over $6.
Torch Craft Marine 12-foot APEX is a jet-powered screamer meant to race upstream in big rivers. The welded aluminum craft seats four and can run in water as shallow as three inches, or jump over just about anything.Mark Vaughn
And it never came up that on opening day of the show the nation had gone to the polls and basically realigned the whole government, leaving open the question of whether the EPA would get back to subsidizing electric cars or that emissions regulations might be clamped back down again.
SEMA is a world unto itself, where every tuner company is trying to outdo every other tuning company and make money doing it. So this year's was another celebration of horsepower and excess, but in a good way. Click on to see some of the favorites from the 2 million square feet of floor space that is the SEMA show.
1) 1965 Backdraft Roadster Replica
Backdraft Racing specializes in making hand-built custom roadsters. This one is fluorescent red with volcano black stripes and silver outlines. It's powered by a 7.3-liter Godzilla Stage 1 + BTR Intake making 580 hp. Backdraft roadsters start at $66,900. The Backdraft RT4 roadster is supplied as a turnkey-minus rolling chassis, the company says.
2) 1989 Datsun Skyline GT ES
The bōsōzoku (meaning "violent running tribe") style is an extreme Japanese automotive subculture that grew out of post-war 1950s–1970s motorcycle and greaser gangs. While the term originally described rebellious youth motorcycle clubs, it evolved into a theatrical, polarizing way to customize classic Japanese cars and kaido racers. The focus is entirely on visual shock value, craftsmanship, and attitude rather than actual track performance or speed.
Among the features are: Takeyari ("Bamboo Spear") Exhausts, towering, vertical, or angled pipes that shoot high into the air—sometimes extending well past the roofline; Shakotan ("Low Car") Stance, period-correct sedans and coupes slammed dangerously close to the ground, often paired with deep-dish, small-diameter wheels and extreme negative camber ( onikyan ); and features like protruding oil cooler hoses mounted to the front bumper, hand-painted kanji slogans, bright or clashing paint schemes, and Grand Champion ( Grachan ) racing-inspired liveries.
3) Vochos VW Pickup
This was converted by Vochos Pickup in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Vochos is slang for Volkswagen in Mexico. This one is powered by an 1835-cc air-cooled flat-four. It took the team six weeks to complete, but that was "25 guys working nonstop," said a Vochos employee. Most take three to four months to finish, with the 4x4 models taking six to 10 months. Starting price is $32,000, or 450,000 pesos.
4) Hot Rod Chavik Roadster
Stanley Chavik grew up in the Czech Republic reading American car magazines, watching American TV shows, and dreaming of setting up a shop to build hot rods in America. He's been doing the latter since 2003, with a shop in the city of Orange, California. The blue car above is his latest build. Many people still think this build should have won the AMBR last January, and who can blame them?
5) Queedon Motoglow Lights
For $250, you can get a complete set of lights and plug-in power to transform your motorcycle, ATV, or car into a rolling parade float from the Main Street Electrical Parade. Founder Brian Lewick made his kits easy to install and waterproof, so you can keep styling even in the rain and snow. The light patterns on his motorcycle, shown above, ran back and forth on the little light conduits he'd lined his bike with. So cool. motoglowlights.com
6) ProCharger Supercharger
This ProCharger-built block is a 540-cid 4.9 Noonan Hemi, making over 4,200 hp, ProCharger says.
7) Troy Indy Special
This two-seat roadster is powered by an LS 376 GM engine nestled in an all-aluminum body, with a custom pushrod suspension. Prices start at just $215,000.
8) 1967 Ford Galaxie 500
An all-time classic.
9) S.P.P. Customs Alfa Romeo GTV
Owner Sebastian Fazzina of S.P.P. Customs did an outstanding job on this restoration. Everything from the deep red paint to the perfectly matching velocity stacks is flawless.
"The GTV arrived at S.P.P. as a bare, unfinished shell, and from there, every stage of the build pushed it closer to the car you see today," he said. "From fitting the carbon widebody to final prep, paint, and assembly, this carousel shows just how much changed along the way."
10) 1936 Ford Roadster
Rick Dore of Rick Dore Kustoms presented this '36 Ford roadster at SEMA, and it may have been the most perfect of the show.
11) Tools!
I found these in the Harbor Freight booth. Left to right: high-leverage combination plier, adjustable hose clamp pliers, and adjustable pliers wrench. They're not in stores yet, but they're on the boat. And no, they did not give me a set, they just looked and felt handy.
12) Il Mostro Americano
That's a Falconer L6 engine mated to a Tremec five-speed sitting in a custom-welded Roadster Shop tube frame chassis. It was built by Cal Automotive Creations.
It's an early '50s Italian-inspired one-off coupe designed by e. Black Design Company. It's held up by a DeDion-inspired rear suspension and torsion bars. Looking forward to seeing the finished product. Maybe they'll let me drive it?
